Caleb Azumah Nelson's 'Small Worlds' Explores Identity Through Music and Migration

Caleb Azumah Nelson's second novel, 'Small Worlds', published by Viking, follows Stephen, a young man of Ghanaian heritage in southeast London, navigating love, music, and family across three years from 2010. The narrative moves between Peckham and Ghana, weaving in parental memories of 1970s Ghana and migration to the UK. Music, featuring artists like Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Fela, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown, serves as a central plot device, illustrating cultural heritage and unfulfilled dreams. Stephen's journey includes a trip to Ghana where he inherits his father's record collection, symbolizing lost aspirations and new possibilities. The book, priced at £14.99 in softcover, builds on themes from Nelson's debut 'Open Water' (2021), exploring identity and place with autobiographical resonance, as Nelson himself grew up in southeast London immersed in arts. It avoids being a simple romance, instead delving into broader relationships and the immigrant experience.